Key action device for a woodwind musical instrument

ABSTRACT

A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument comprises a key arm swingably supported by a transverse pivot rod and having one end attached to a key cup, a shaft rotatably supported on key posts and connected to a finger button, a transverse arm extending perpendicularly to said key arm and having one end fixed to said shaft, and a joint block having a pair of swiveling bores crossed perpendicularly to each other in which are respectively journaled the other ends of the key arm and the transverse arm. The joint block is made of plastic material which is resistant to wear and has low frictional qualities in engagement with metal parts.

United States Patent Inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Priority Rynichi Yokoyma Kakegawa-shi, Japan Nov. 19, 1969 June 8, 1971 Nippon Gakki Seizo Knbuslliki Keisha llnlnamatsu-ski, Japan Nov. 21, 1968 Japan KEY ACTION DEVICE FOR A WOODWIND [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,234,107 3/194l Comer 84/380 3,421,398 1/1969 Whiteside et al. 84/380 3,504,590 4/1970 Bedford Primary ExaminerRichard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-John F Gonzales Attorney-Flynn and Frishauf ABSTRACT: A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument comprises a key arm swingably supported by a transverse pivot rod and having one end attached to a key cup, a shaft rotatably supported on key posts and connected to a finger button, a transverse arm extending perpendicularly to said key arm and having one end fixed to said shaft, and a joint block having a pair of swiveling bores crossed perpendicularly to each other in which are respectively journaled the other ends of the key arm and the transverse arm.

The joint block is made of plastic material which is resistant to wear and has low frictional qualities in engagement with metal parts.

KEY ACTION DEVICE FOR A WOODWIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT This invention relates to a key action device for a woodwind musical instrument such as a saxophone.

The prior art key action device involves a key arm having one end attached to a key cup, and a transverse arm having a forked end portion, the other end of said key arm being supported by said forked end portion so as to be swiveled in the interval defined between the claws of said fork. However, said action device is disadvantageous due to noises caused by friction between the metal parts of said transverse arm and key urm.

An object of this invention is to provide a key action device so improved as to avoid the generation of such noises with the aid of a simple construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an aspect of this invention, the key action device for a woodwind musical instrument comprises a key arm having one end attached to a key cup and swingably supported by a transverse pivot rod, a shaft rotatably supported on key posts and connected to a finger button, a transverse arm extending perpendicularly to said key arm and having one end fixed to said shaft, and a joint block having a pair of swiveling bores crossed perpendicularly to each other in which are respectively journaled the other ends of said key arm and said transverse arm, said joint block being made of plastic material which is resistant to wear and has low frictional qualities.

The other features and advantages of this invention will be understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a front view of a part of a saxophone embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of an action device of this invention attached to the saxophone body; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a part of said action device.

FIGS. 1 to 3 indicate a key action device embodying this invention. Said key action device is used in a woodwind musical instrument such as a saxophone. Said instrument comprises a tubular body I having a plurality of spaced tone holes 2 (only two tone holes 2,are illustrated), a plurality of key cups 3 having pads 4, for instance, of cotton or felt so positioned as to correspond to said holds 2 respectively in a manner to releasably seal or shield said holes 2 individually, and key action devices 5 provided in corresponding relationship to some of said key cups 3.

Each illustrated key action device includes a key arm 6, a shaft 7, a transverse arm 8 extending perpendicularly to the key arm 6, and a joint block 9 made of plastic material such as tetrafluoroethylene, nylon or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, which are resistant to wear and have low frictional qualities in engagement with metal parts. Said key arm 6 is made of metal such as brass and is attached to)said key cup 3 at one end. Furthermore, said key arm 6 is swingably supported by a transverse pivot rod 10 perpendicularly attached thereto and journaled in key posts 10a at both ends, said key posts 10a being mounted on said body 1. Said shaft 7 is rotatably supported by key posts 11 at both ends, and connected with the arm of a finger button (not shown in all figures). Said key posts lla are also mounted on said body I. Said transverse arm 8 is made of metal such as brass and has one end fixed to said shaft 7. Said joint block 9 has a pair of swiveling bores 9aand 9bcrossed perpendicularly to each other, one of which is swivelingly connected the other end of said key arm 6, and the other of which is similarly connected to said other end of said transverse arm 8. At the other ends of said key arm 6 and transverse arm 8 are integrally formed small diameter portions 6aand 8a, respectively, each of which is journaled in a swiveling bore. The small-diameter portions are preferably made 2mm. in diameter and the inside diameters of the bores 2. lmm.

In operation, when any finger button (not shown) is pushed down, the shaft 7 corresponding to said finger button is rotated so that the transverse arm 8 is swung to cause the key arm 6 to be turned around the transverse pivot rod 10. The seal of the corresponding key cup 3 is released so as to cause the tone hole 2 to be opened. In this case, since the joint block 9 is made of such material as would have low frictional qualities in engagement with metal parts, both key arm and transverse arm can be moved without noises caused by metal friction.

What I claim is:

I. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument, said device being mounted on a tubular body of the instrument and comprising a key arm having one end attached to a key cup and swingably supported by a transverse pivot rod, a shaft rotatably supported on key posts and connected to a finger button, a transverse arm extending perpendicularly to said key arm and having one end fixed to said shaft, and a joint block having a pair of swiveling bores crossed perpendicularly to each other in which are respectively journaled the other ends of said key arm and said transverse arm with said key arm out of contact with said transverse arm, said joint block being made of plastics which is resistant to wear and has low frictional qualities.

2. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument claimed in claim I in which said joint block is made of tetrafluoroethylene.

3. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument claimed in claim 1 in which there are integrally formed at the other ends of said key arm and transverse arm small diameter portions, each of which is journaled in the respective swiveling bore.

4. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument according to claim 3 wherein said bores intersect each other in said joint block.

5. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument according to claim 4, wherein said small-diameter portion of one of said key arm and transverse arm traverses the bore in which the other small-diameter portion is journaled. 

1. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument, said device being mounted on a tubular body of the instrument and comprising a key arm having one end attached to a key cup and swingably supported by a transverse pivot rod, a shaft rotatably supported on key posts and connected to a finger button, a transverse arm extending perpendicularly to said key arm and having one end fixed to said shaft, and a joint block having a pair of swiveling bores crossed perpendicularly to each other in which are respectively journaled the other ends of said key arm and said transverse arm with said key arm out of contact with said transverse arm, said joint block being made of plastics which is resistant to wear and has low frictional qualities.
 2. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument claimed in claim 1 in which said joint block is made of tetrafluoroethylene.
 3. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument claimed in claim 1 in which there are integrally formed at the other ends of said key arm and transverse arm small diameter portions, each of which is journaled in the respective swiveling bore.
 4. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument according to claim 3 wherein said bores intersect each other in said joint block.
 5. A key action device for a woodwind musical instrument according to claim 4, wherein said small-diameter portion of one of said key arm and transverse arm traverses the bore in which the other small-diameter portion is journaled. 